


A Trip to the Springs

by StariWolfe



Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Everyone is a dumbass, F/M, Hot Springs & Onsen, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Sibling Rivalry, Truth or Dare, idk if it counts as rivalry but there's siblings being shits to each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21708640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StariWolfe/pseuds/StariWolfe
Summary: All of the norn in the guild take a small vacation to Hoelbrak and visit the hot springs out in the foothills. Shenanigans ensue.
Relationships: Braham Eirsson/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	A Trip to the Springs

**Author's Note:**

> hello yes i have returned with shippy shit hope y'all like it  
> we need some cute shit after that last story episode so have fun
> 
> also i have a ko-fi now if y'all wanna give me some tips and such
> 
> https://ko-fi.com/stariwolfe

When Vesper had told all of the norn in the guild to take a few days off to get the excitement out of their systems, Nocte had expected a quiet time with her friends and maybe attending a moot in Hoelbrak.

She should’ve known that peace was rarely an option with this guild, and it didn’t take her long to realize that Vesper just wanted some quiet in the hall for a few days.

Nor was she expecting everyone to want to visit the hot spring out in Wayfarer Foothills.

And yet here she was now, sitting in the hot spring watching Braham and her brother Orn wrestle about in the water while she relaxed with the rest of the party. Including the two brawling, there were six of them in total visiting the springs: Auriel was on one side of sister, talking excitedly about her research while Echo listened patiently, while Aeri was on the opposite side of Nocte watching the men careen about in the spring, looking ready to jump in at any moment. Her pets were also present, with her owl perched on a tree nearby and her two wolves and smokescale warming themselves on the rocks around the springs. Nocte herself was also watching the men, but her mind was elsewhere. 

Kralkatorrik had been defeated, and most of the celebrations had passed, but there were still three more dragons lurking just beyond their sight. Eventually one of them would have to make a move, and the ranger wanted to be ready when they reared their heads. She’d begun to hear whispers about Jormag around the Shiverpeaks, and she was incredibly ready to face that dragon. It was its fault that her would-be spirit Owl was no longer around, and it was also responsible for the disappearance of the three siblings’ parents. While she had no desire for the dragons to become active, she wanted desperately to pay back Jormag for the years that the three spent barely making it by, only able to press on with the kindness of strangers and their hunting skills. And so help her, if any of the dragons dared to hurt her friends or family, or, Spirits forbid, Braham, she would march right up to their stupid scaley faces and-

Her train of thought was abruptly interrupted when suddenly a large mass that looked vaguely like Orn flew through the air and into the water in front of the ladies, splashing all of them with piping hot water. As the others began spouting various profanities, Nocte looked through her soaked bangs to see Braham staring at the now prone Orn victoriously.

“I TOLD you I could throw you!”

“So you did, and you were right!” Orn replied as he gradually got up from his position, propping himself up on his elbows before turning to Nocte to whisper, “Alright, he’s got my approval, you can date him!” Nocte pushed him back into the water after that remark, and as Orn sputtered from getting water in his mouth, Aeri spoke up, silencing both of the men with her glare.

“Maybe you two could engage in an activity that doesn’t involve the rest of us getting drenched in hot water?”

“Maybe I should throw the two of them in the snow…” Echo said, stroking her chin as if contemplating the idea.

Nearly as soon as the words were out of their mouths, Braham and Orn sat down among them, with Braham putting himself between Nocte and Auriel and Orn sitting on the other side of Aeri. The two of them knew that those threats weren’t empty.

“Right, right, of course, we wouldn’t want our companions to get cold in the air! Right, Braham?” Orn looked at the other man, smiling an unnatural smile and winking furiously and Braham, who responded in kind. Seemingly satisfied, the two ladies sat back against the rock, closing their eyes in relaxation. Nocte was about to follow suit when she felt a hand on her arm and looked up to see Braham looking at her.

“Hey, so, uh, sorry about that. You’re alright, right?” She was surprised to see him legitimately concerned. She smiled softly at him, pushing her bangs out of her face.

“While I’d prefer my hair dry, I’m not hurt from the water, no. Thank you for your concern, though, Braham.” She was always touched by Braham’s small gestures like that. Feeling a little better about the whole ‘my hair is wet and the air is cold’ thing, she leaned back in the water and rested her head on the stone behind her, closing her eyes.

She had forgotten that Braham’s hand was still on her arm, and she was surprised to feel it slowly but surely making its way down to her hand. 

She couldn’t deny any longer that she had feelings for the man, so naturally, she wasn’t going to shake him off, but she was toying with the idea of just moving her hand up to grasp his since he was slower than a wounded animal. Before she could move her hand or Braham could grasp hers, they were interrupted by Orn.

“I’ve got an idea! Let’s play Truth or Dare!” Nocte’s eyes widened at his suggestion. Knowing her brother, that sounded like the worst possible suggestion at the moment, especially in their swimsuits in a hot spring with the man she loved.

“That’s the dumbest idea that’s come out of your mouth all week, Orn.” She was thankful that she managed to keep her voice calm. Spirits only know that she didn’t want anyone to think something was off.

“I don’t know, Noc, I think it might be fun!” Auriel spoke up, casting a glance at Nocte. The ranger sighed; she should’ve known that her siblings would take this moment to mess with her. “It could be a great chance to get to know each other better! Aeri, Echo, what do you two think?” The other two nodded enthusiastically. Nocte sighed yet again. Even if Braham didn’t want to play either, they were outnumbered.

“Seems that I’m outnumbered. Alright, fine, but let’s keep it somewhat tame. No trips to the infirmary, got it?” Nocte made herself very clear on that front; she didn’t want anyone getting hurt. Thankfully everyone was agreeable with that and nodded sternly. “Now, how are we deciding who goes first?” The customary way to choose the next participant was for the last person who was asked got to pick the next person, but choosing the first would be an issue.

Or not, as her siblings decided.

“You should go first, Nocte!” Auriel and Orn said in near unison, watching their sister like a hawk. Nocte could already see this going horribly downhill. As she looked beside her to see if the others wanted to go first, she saw that everyone seemed to share their idea, as Echo, Braham, and Aeri were all nodding too. At this point she just hung her head; it seemed she wasn’t getting out of this.

“Alright, Noc, truth or dare?” Orn looked at her with a shit-eating grin. She could already tell that he was in full-on little brother mode: ready to embarrass her at any given moment. She took a deep breath and met his gaze with no hesitation.

“Dare.” She heard the others’ excitement beside her. She wanted to get this out of the way. Orn’s grin grew wider, and she steeled herself for whatever he had in store. Was he gonna ask her to kiss Braham? Or ask her to tell him how she felt? Make her do something embarrassing in front of him in her swimsuit?

“I dare you to sit on Braham’s lap throughout the whole game.”

...All things considered, that was better than most of what she feared he’d ask her. Nocte turned to Braham, whose face had grown darker around his cheeks with his blush.

“Are you alright with this, Braham?” She didn’t want him to be uncomfortable, though she doubted he would be. It was obvious (to her, at least) that they had chemistry.

“Uh, yeah! Yeah, it’s uh, totally fine!” He was desperately trying not to meet her eyes. That was fine with her; she’d probably start blushing too if she looked into his eyes. Wordlessly, she maneuvered herself in the water until she was situated on his lap, with her back leaning into his chest. She wasn’t going to lie to herself: she liked this. Her heart fluttered in her chest when Braham gently wrapped an arm around her waist, though. She looked at Orn triumphantly.

“Alright, then it’s my turn. Orn, truth or dare?” Nocte smirked when she saw his grin fall. He was clearly expecting her to make a bigger deal out of being in Braham’s lap. He looked back at her with a cool expression.

“Dare. Two can play at that game!”

“Alright then, I dare you to go jump in that snow pile over there.” It was her turn to wear a shit-eating grin as Orn heaved a sigh before getting out of the water and hurling himself into said snow pile head first. The rest of the norn burst into laughter as Orn yelled about how cold he was, and Nocte couldn’t help but giggle helplessly. That was a good choice for her revenge. It was made even sweeter when she felt Braham’s arm tighten around her to keep himself steady. Orn got back in the water and sent a death glare Nocte’s way, before turning his attention to Echo.

“Truth or dare, Echo?”

“I don’t want to move, so truth.”

“What’s the secret ingredient in your apple pies?” Orn looked at her expectedly. Nocte wanted to know this, too. Echo’s pies were top notch. The woman in question sighed; the white-haired norn assumed it was because she didn’t want to share her secret recipe.

“This information doesn’t leave the six of us, understood?” She looked around to see everyone nod before continuing. “I add in cardamom and nutmeg in with the cinnamon. Now then, Auriel, truth or dare?”

“Truth, please! I don’t want to move either.”

“Do you have a crush on anyone?” Auriel’s face turned bright red as she gazed towards the water. That basically answered the question, but the rules of the game meant she had to verbally answer.

“Uh...I might…” She looked around at the others' intense gazes and relented. “Okay, fine! Yes, I do.” She adamantly refused to meet anyone’s gaze after that statement. Nocte already knew the answer to the question, but it was still satisfying to see her admit it to the others.

“Oh, you can’t just leave it like that, Auriel!” Aeri was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Who are they? What are they like?”

“Oh, no! I am not telling any of you who! I see how y’all tease Nocte about her love, and I don’t want to be a target for that!” Nocte nearly short-circuited at that remark, and she couldn’t keep her face from turning red, even though she was laughing along with the others.

Strangely, Braham wasn’t laughing as hard as the others.

“You’re in love with someone, Nocte?” He looked at her with curiosity in his eyes. And...was that a bit of a worry in his tone?

“Well… you see…” Nocte had no idea how to proceed with this. She didn’t want to tell him with the others around.

Auriel interrupted her train of thought.

“Hey, Nocte, truth or dare?” Auriel looked at her expectantly. She didn’t want to chance her sister messing with her further with a dare.

“Truth.”

“Are YOU in love with someone?” Nocte was getting a little tired of the shit-eating grins that everyone had today. 

“Yes. That’s not even a secret.” She answered clearly and concisely. She placed her hand on Braham’s arm and squeezed lightly. She doubted that he’d get it, but she hoped it would make him not worry about it. She felt his arm tighten around her slightly and took that as a good sign. She turned her attention to Aeri, who hadn’t been asked anything yet.

“Alright, Aeri, your turn. Truth or dare?”

“Let’s have a little fun. Dare.”

“Let’s see...I dare you to…” She looked over at her brother who was looking a little bored and maybe even zoned out. Maybe he was talking to the demon in his head; that’s a thing revenants do, right? “...To give Orn a shocking little wake-up call.”

“Wait, what?” Before Orn could process what was going on, Aeri sent a small jolt of electricity his way. It wasn’t enough to harm him, thankfully; he just gave a hilarious yelp when the electricity hit him. As he was recovering from the jolt and the others were laughing at his inhuman sound, Aeri turned to Braham.

“Your turn. Truth or dare, Braham?”

“Uh...let’s go with dare!”

“Let’s see here. I dare you to…” Aeri stroked her chin for a moment before looking over to Orn, who was still recovering from the small electric shock. “...bench press Orn ten times.”

“Wait, what?” The two men said in near-perfect unison. They looked at each other and shrugged before they began to move to the center of the spring for this little stunt. Nocte couldn’t suppress a slight feeling of disappointment as Braham moved her off of his lap to go lift her brother.

To no one’s surprise, Braham had very little trouble lifting Orn over his shoulders and using him as a weight. Nocte was definitely not looking at his muscles as he was holding the larger norn up, even though they were quite impressive. In no time the ten lifts were done, and Orn and Braham went back to their respective places against the rocks.

And Braham promptly grabbed Nocte and placed her back on his lap, seemingly without even thinking. This time, she couldn’t stop the blush that rose to her face. It wasn’t a moment later that Braham’s face also darkened with the realization of what he did.

“Oh, uh, sorry Nocte! It’s uh, part of the game, and-you know what? I’m just gonna stop myself there…”

“It’s alright, Braham! It, uh, doesn’t bother me. No worries.” She brushed a bit of hair behind her ear; it was a bit of a nervous tick of hers. She couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. She needed to get herself under control first. She felt Braham loosely put an arm around her waist again as he turned to Echo.

“Truth or dare, Echo?”

“Dare, since I did truth already.”

“I dare you to kiss your bear!” Braham said triumphantly, as if expecting for Echo to be horribly opposed to the idea. Instead, her reaction was quite the opposite.

“Bold of you to assume I don’t kiss his sweet face every day!” She said, dissolving into baby talk as she called over her bear and kissed him. Braham had the strangest expression on his face as he turned to Nocte.

“Are you like that with your animals?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No comment. Look, seems like Echo gonna choose the next victim.” Nocte watched as Echo looked around their party, and grinned when her eyes settled on Orn.

“Alright, Orn, you know what to do by now.”

“Truth! I don’t trust any of you with dares anymore.” Everyone laughed while Echo pondered her question, with a sly smile coming to her face as she decided.

“How did you and Sheelin meet?” Nocte gave a sigh of relief. She knew what was coming next.

“Oh, as if I’d hesitate to talk about my lovely girlfriend! You see…” As Orn launched into his tale, Nocte turned her closer to Braham’s ear so her brother couldn’t hear.

“He’ll go on for a while, so we’ll have a chance to relax. Echo’s a quick thinker. Take this moment to chill for a bit.” She whispered. As she saw him relax his shoulders, she leaned back into his chest and closed her eyes, listening to Orn spin his tale about meeting his tiny sylvari girlfriend. It was the same as always, if a little embellished. The two were in the Vigil together, and were going to be sparring against each other in a practice match, in which Orn thought was unfair due to his much larger size than the short sylvari. In the end, Sheelin had absolutely whooped his ass, and he was instantly head over heels. Nocte heard him go on further about their escapades and such, much farther than he needed to go for his dare, but she doubted anyone would stop him. They wanted a moment of respite.

And Nocte could not deny how nice it was to just relax in Braham’s arms. It was warm, she always felt safe around him, and his muscles were surprisingly comfy. She had no idea why she was so hyper-aware of these things today, but she figured she would’ve noticed sooner or later. She still was slightly sad that he’d forgotten his drunken confession to her on the airship after Kralkatorrik’s defeat. Maybe they could’ve moved forward by now…

But she always had the future to look forward to. And speaking of, it seems like the future candidate of truth or dare was about to be chosen, as Orn had finished his tale. He looked around for a moment and his eyes eventually landed on Aeri. He pointed at the woman dramatically.

“Alright, you know the drill!”

“Truth.” 

“Would you ever consider collecting the old bounties on Vesper and Kynedyr’s heads?” That was a really good question, actually. Aeri was known throughout Hoelbrak, and the Crystal Desert now, for her ferocity and relentlessness when she was hunting bounties, and Nocte knew that Vesper and Kynedyr had once had sizeable bounties on their heads. Surprisingly, the bounty hunter in question shook her head.

“They’ve done too much good for Tyria for me to even consider it. And even if I was interested, I’m fairly certain that they paid off those bounties themselves with the work that they’ve done. Anyway, Braham, your turn.” 

“Uh...truth!”

“Worst kiss you’ve ever had?” Braham’s face grew very dark at that. Nocte looked up at him; she was very interested to hear this information. For no particular reason, of course. Maybe she could use it as a means to tease him…

“So uh, fun story, I’ve uh...never kissed anyone.”

Silence reigned after his statement, followed by the older norn awww-ing at him and the younger ones relieved that he hadn’t yet. They didn’t want to be the only ones who hadn’t kissed anyone, it seemed. Nocte couldn’t stop herself from giggling a bit. Braham noticed this and quickly turned to Auriel.

“Alright, moving on! Auriel-”

“Dare! Bring it on!”

“I dare you to…” he looked around and looked at Orn once again. “...To use your revenant skills to toss Orn out of the spring!”

“Again!? But-” He was cut off by Auriel using her ability to push back opponents on him, and he was promptly back in the snow, shouting various swears. Nocte and Auriel dissolved into helpless giggles.

“This has to be the most fun game of truth or dare I’ve ever played!” Nocte managed to say through her laughter, with Braham’s arm holding her steady.

“I agree! This was great, can we do this more often?” Auriel was leaning against the rocks to keep herself from falling over. The two didn’t notice Orn coming back to the pool and making a beeline for them.

“Hey, Braham, I’m gonna borrow Nocte for a minute. Auriel, get back here! You aren’t escaping this either!” Before the two sisters could even protest, Orn had slung them both over his shoulders and ran back into the snow, throwing all three of them into the cold powder. Nocte could hear the others dying of laughter in the spring, and, as cold as she was, she couldn’t help but smile. She and Auriel picked themselves up from the snow as Echo stood up in the spring.

“Alright, as nice as this is, we probably need to head back. We don’t want any of us to catch a cold from this.” Everyone nodded their heads and briefly went their separate ways to dry off and redress in their normal clothing. As Nocte was drying off and putting her regular clothes back on, her thoughts drifted to how nice this little trip was. She was actually thanking Orn, something she’d never thought she’d do in this context, for his little dare that allowed her and Braham to be so close without any of the others teasing them. As she finished getting dressed and thought about how much she enjoyed her time in Braham’s arms, she couldn’t help but sigh.

“Spirits forbid, this is going to be worse than Vess and Altair, isn’t it?”

“Hey, Nocte!” She startled a bit when she heard Braham’s voice from just around the rock she was behind. “Can I come over? Are you dressed yet?”

“Sure, I’m dressed! Just getting my stuff together, come on over!” As she bent down to get the rest of her things, Braham walked into view, ready to go for their small walk back to Hoelbrak.

“Whatcha talking to yourself about? I heard you say something as I was walking over.” Well, at least he didn’t hear exactly what she’d said.

“I’m thinking about whoever Auriel’s crush is. It’s gonna take longer for them to get together than it took for Vesper and Altair to get together. She’s terrible with things like that.” She was only partially lying; that had been on her mind as well, just not at the forefront.

“Ah, I see! Oh uh, by the way…” She turned to face him as he scratched the back of his neck, just below his new braid. “You weren’t too uncomfortable with that, were you? I have no idea why Orn dared you to do that, and I know it was a dare, but I want to make sure that I didn’t do anything that-”

“Easy, Braham, it was fine! You didn’t do anything that made me uncomfortable and it was actually kinda nice.” She went back to packing up the various things that she’d brought, mostly to take care of her pets. “I’m honestly surprised that he dared me to do that, too. But not because of how extreme it was; Orn being Orn, and me being me, that was pretty tame from what I was expecting.”

“Oh really? How so?”

“Orn has been doing stuff like that since we were kids. You wouldn’t believe how many times he used to try and set me up with someone under a mistletoe. But some...experiences, let’s call them, changed that, and now he’s super protective.” 

“Oh, I see. Glad that was all he dared, then.”

“You and me both. I’d rather do stuff like that on my own instead of a dare, after all. Anyway,” Nocte finished packing her things and stood, calling her pets towards herself and Braham, wondering if he got her implications in what she said. “Shall we join the others? I could use a hot drink after being tossed in the snow.”

“Yeah, let’s go! And uh, if you want, you can borrow my coat. I’ll be fine!” She gave a small chuckle as he moved to her side.

“I appreciate the offer, but I should be alright. Stick close, though, in case I change my mind.” She gave him a small wink, something she never thought she’d be brave enough to do (Orn must be wearing off on her), and felt a surge of satisfaction as his face grew dark once again.

“Oh uh, of course! Let’s go get some ale, yeah?” Nocte agreed heartily as the two made their way to where the others were waiting, ready for the walk back to Hoelbrak with her friends. Seems their little vacation would be rather enjoyable after all.

**Author's Note:**

> hope y'all liked it cuz my next one is gonna be angst


End file.
